Sartorius (FWB:SRT), a leading international laboratory and
pharmaceutical equipment provider, successfully closed the first six
months of 2012, with substantial gains in order intake, sales revenue
and earnings. The Bioprocess Solutions Division that primarily
specializes in single-use products for pharmaceutical drug manufacture
performed especially well. Furthermore, initial consolidation of the
Biohit Liquid Handling business considerably boosted growth for the
Laboratory Products & Services Division. Based on the company’s strong
first-half results, management lifted its guidance for the full year of
2012. Accordingly, Sartorius now expects its sales to grow by about 11%
in constant currencies (former guidance: +10%). In addition, provided
that currency exchange rates remain favorable as in the first half,
adjusted earnings (operating EBITA) are projected to increase by around
15% (former guidance: +10%).

Dynamic Growth of Sales Revenue and Order IntakeIn the
first half of 2012, Sartorius increased its sales revenue year over year
by 19.3%, or 15.6% in constant currencies, to 422.1 million euros. The
Biohit Liquid Handling business acquired at the end of 2011 added
approximately six percentage points to this gain. In the same period,
order intake rose 15.3%, or 11.7% in constant currencies, to 434.2
million euros.

All three Group divisions fueled this dynamic business performance.
Accounting for more than half of consolidated revenue, the Bioprocess
Solutions Division continued on the growth track of the past quarters:
it posted solid organic sales growth of 237.4 million euros, up 21.2%,
or 17.3% in constant currencies. Order intake for this division also
rose significantly by 12.2%, or 8.5% in constant currencies, to 243.4
million euros. Demand was strong, especially for single-use products for
the manufacture of biopharmaceuticals, such as specialty filters and
aseptic bags and tanks.

The Lab Products & Services Division, which provides premium laboratory
instruments and consumables, boosted its first-half sales revenue by
20.2%, or 16.1% in constant currencies, to 133.0 million euros, seeing
an uptick in order intake of 29.0%, or 24.7% in constant currencies, to
139.7 million euros. Initial consolidation of the Biohit Liquid Handling
business acquired at the end of 2011 contributed around 18 percentage
points, based on constant currencies, to growth for this division. Sales
revenue for the company’s smallest division, Industrial Weighing,
improved, also when seen against the backdrop of a moderate year-earlier
revenue base, by 9.5%, or 7.3% in constant currencies, to 51.8 million
euros, while its order intake at 51.1 million euros was nearly at the
previous year’s level of 51.4 million (currency-adjusted: -2.6%).

Regional analysis shows that North America posted the highest growth, up
30.2%. In Asia, business expanded by 14.9%; Europe saw gains of 10.8%
(all regional figures in constant currencies).

Significant Increase in EarningsBased on its dynamic sales
performance, Sartorius further increased its first-half earnings year
over year. The Group's operating earnings1) surged by around
one-fourth (+24.6%) from 51.1 million euros to 63.6 million euros; the
respective margin for the Group climbed from 14.4% to 15.1%. In the same
period, the Bioprocess Solutions Division boosted its earnings 28.7% to
42.9 million euros; its margin rose from 17.0% to 18.1%. The Lab
Division lifted its operating earnings by nearly 9% to 16.5 million
euros from 15.2 million euros, with a margin of 12.4%, relative to 13.7%
a year earlier. Following a comparatively moderate first half in 2011
(2.5 million euros), the Industrial Weighing Division achieved operating
earnings of 4.2 million euros. Accordingly, its operating margin
improved significantly from 5.4% to 8.1%.

Group EBITA rose year on year by 27.3% to 56.5 million euros, up from
44.4 million euros. This figure includes extraordinary items of -7.1
million euros (1st half 2011: -6.7 million euros), which were
essentially related to integration of the Biohit Liquid Handling
business, preparations for the transfer of single-use bag manufacture
from the USA to Puerto Rico and to various cross-divisional projects.
The corresponding EBITA margin was at 13.4%, compared with 12.5% a year
ago. The Group’s relevant net profit2) soared 24.5% from 23.7
million euros a year earlier to 29.5 million euros. The Group’s
respective earnings per share are at 1.73 euros, up from 1.39 euros in
the previous year.

Full-year Guidance RaisedBased on the company’s strong
business performance in the first half, management raised its sales and
earnings guidance for the full year of 2012. Sartorius now anticipates
that full-year sales revenue will grow by about 11% (former guidance:
about 10%) in constant currencies. Around five percentage points of this
gain are forecast to be generated by the initial consolidation of the
Biohit Liquid Handling business. In addition, provided that currency
exchange rates remain favorable as in the first half of 2012, management
projects that operating EBITA will increase by around 15% (former
guidance: around 10%).

In view of the three divisions, Sartorius anticipates that
currency-adjusted sales revenue for Bioprocess Solutions will grow
approximately 10% (former guidance: 6% to 8%). Operating EBITA is
expected to increase by around 15% (former guidance: 6% to 8%) compared
to the previous year.

For the Lab Products & Services Division, management's forecast has
remained unchanged: sales revenue is projected to expand by
approximately 16% to 20% in constant currencies, primarily due to
initial consolidation of the Biohit Liquid Handling business. The
division's operating EBITA is forecasted to increase in fiscal 2012 by
around 20% to 24% (former guidance: 16% to 20%).

The growth and earnings forecast for the Industrial Weighing Division is
confirmed: currency-adjusted sales revenue and operating EBITA are
expected to show stable development relative to the previous year.

1) Sartorius uses earnings before interest, taxes and
amortization, EBITA, as the key profitability measure. To enable a more
informative comparison of the figures given for the previous years, the
company additionally reports operating earnings adjusted for
extraordinary items (= operating EBITA) besides EBITA.

Sartorius products used in the manufacture of medications:www.sartorius.com/fileadmin/media/global/company/pr_20120419_bioprocess_solutions.jpg

Sartorius products used in laboratory research:www.sartorius.com/fileadmin/media/global/company/pr_20120419_lab_products_services.jpg

Conference Call and Webcast

Dr. Joachim Kreuzburg, CEO and Executive Board Chairman of Sartorius,
will discuss the 2012 first-half results with analysts and investors on
July 25, 2012, at 3:30 p.m. Central European Time in a webcast
teleconference. You may dial into the teleconference starting at
3:15 p.m. CET at the following numbers:

This press release contains statements about the future development of
the Sartorius Group. The content of these statements cannot be
guaranteed as they are based on assumptions and estimates that harbor
certain risks and uncertainties.

This is a translation of the original German-language press release.
Sartorius shall not assume any liability for the correctness of this
translation. The original German press release is the legally binding
version. Furthermore, Sartorius reserves the right not to be responsible
for the topicality, correctness, completeness or quality of the
information provided. Liability claims regarding damage caused by the
use of any information provided, including any kind of information which
is incomplete or incorrect, will therefore be rejected.

A Profile of SartoriusThe Sartorius Group is a leading
international laboratory and process technology provider covering the
segments of Bioprocess Solutions, Lab Products & Services and Industrial
Weighing. In 2011, the technology group earned sales revenue of 733.1
million euros. Founded in 1870, the Goettingen-based company currently
employs more than 5,000 persons. The major areas of activity of its
Bioprocess Solutions segment cover filtration, fluid management,
fermentation, cell cultivation and purification, and focus on production
processes in the biopharmaceutical industry. The Lab Products & Services
segment primarily manufactures laboratory instruments and consumables.
Industrial Weighing concentrates on weighing, monitoring and control
applications in the manufacturing processes of the food, chemical and
pharma sectors. Sartorius has its own production facilities in Europe,
Asia and America as well as sales subsidiaries and local commercial
agencies in more than 110 countries.